Thomas 1 Jacob Thomas Professor Hanson Senior Project II 4/25/13 Our Mortal Reasoning Must Now Come Into

Play In the original adaptation for the stage, (the) Odyssey, the hero finds himself locked in the cave of a giant Cyclops, and while his men panic and struggle to keep their sanity and their lives, Odysseus is the one to demand calm and pronounce that strength alone will not gain them their freedom, but that our mortal reasoning must now come into play (Harding). This sparked my interest in wanting to base my research in the attitude of Odysseus to always think first then act. The Odyssey is probably one of the most referenced works in the literary world. Its topics, morals, and premises are used as subjects and themes in myriad other stories that they can scarce be counted. The one moral from The Odyssey that I will be exploring in depth is that of the enduring truth, that brains over brawn is the best course of action in any given circumstance, as demonstrated by Odysseus, recorded in the celebrated epic poems by Homer, and retold countless times, most recently to me in the form of (the) Odyssey, an original adaptation by Michael A. Harding for the stage. Among the many other descriptions of Odysseus, the one that captures his true essence, is by Joseph Tan, who describes Odysseus as: being cunning and crafty; he is highlighted as the representative of brains over brawn. In The Odyssey, all his cunning and craft is put to use, as Odysseus is often forced into difficult situations requiring his decisionmaking skills. (Tan)

Thomas 2 Odysseus is similar to other Ancient Greek heroes in that he is physically strong, and is always seeking his own personal glory, or as the Greeks put it, kleos, in the eyes of mortal man. Not only did Odysseus seek and obtain kleos through physical prowess, utilizing the brawn he had acquired, but even more so by using his unmatched intellect before using his strength when presented with a daunting task. (Homer) Odysseus first demonstrates his keen cunning in the prequel to The Odyssey, The Iliad, when, after ten years of war outside the city of Troy, he formulated the plan for a tremendous horse to be built of wood. It would be large enough to contain within it a regiment of Greek soldiers. The enormous wooden horse was left at the gates of Troy as a gift, while the surrounding evidence outside the walls had been made to appear as though the Greeks had abandoned their attempt of seizing the city, and the careless inhabitants of Troy brought the horse within their walls. In the dark of night, the soldiers, led by Odysseus himself, crept from inside the horse while the Trojans slept under the guise of false security, and ravished the city. Thus ended and won the ten-year Trojan War for the Greeks; proving that although Achilles had gained kleos with his death after a terrific attestation of his physical strength and skill in the battle, it was Odysseus mental power that overcame the Trojans in the end. Odysseus and Achilles fought side by side during the Trojan War and one retelling of the story notes that Odysseus compared the two by saying, You have your sword; I have my tricks (Troy). Truly it wasnt the sword of Achilles that ended the Trojan War, it was Odysseus tricks. In the tragedy written by Sophocles about Ajax, another hero of the Trojan War, Odysseus exemplifies brains over brawn once again, just after the war, as cited by Wyatt Mason in Harpers Magazine of the author Emily Wilsons summary,

Thomas 3 After the Greek victory over the Trojans, the Greek generals hold a contest to decide who should inherit the magical armor of Achilles, which his divine mother, Thetis, had given to him. Ajaxs archenemy, Odysseus, wins the competition. In Sophocles play, as in Homers Iliad, Odysseus seemsat least at firstlike the exact opposite of Ajax: he represents brains over brawn; trickery over courage; the new sophistic values of flexibility, cleverness, and rhetoric over the old ideal of death before dishonor. (Mason) Sophocles, after becoming aware of the new sophistic values of cleverness, insight, and intellect over strength, may have even structured his character Oedipus the King after Homers hero Odysseus. Thus proving that even as early as Sophocles time, the inference of brains over brawn was becoming a more common theme amongst characters in literature. Homers telling of the story, as translated, notes that Odysseus encountered some hardships on his journey home before reaching the island of the Cyclops, which is where most researchers start when discussing the brave deeds of Odysseus. However Odysseus proved his grand mental capacity much earlier, as recounted in the sacking of Ismarus. Not one man was lost in the fight and Odysseus and his men amassed wondrous treasures and women. Odysseus, always thinking ahead, ordered his men to hastily return to their ships for fear of an attack. The men were not satisfied with the plunder yet and refused to obey their commanders order, which lead to the loss of nearly one hundred men. Those that obeyed Odysseus, and followed him back the ships, are the same men that make up Odysseuss crew as he sets sail for home once again, and sets up the remainder of the

Thomas 4 story for the other and greater examples of Odysseuss utilization of using his brains over, or shall we say, before, he uses his brawn. The most cited and well-known adventure from The Odyssey tells of the escape of Odysseus and his men from the cave of Polyphemus the Cyclops. Homer allows the reader to see how Odysseus demonstrates his wisdom while reasoning through his options and weighing the circumstance as it is, before taking rash action, which leads him to decide to inebriate the Cyclops with wine, then to blind the giant after he had fallen asleep, which would force him to remove the massive boulder from the entrance to the cave to allow his sheep and goats to leave unharmed during his blind fury. Odysseus had cleverly weakened the Cyclops, a creature whose physical powers far outstretched that of Odysseus and all of his men, by taking the time to think first, and then take action. Odysseus didnt stop there; he had planned the escape well. He ordered his men to lash themselves to the bellies of the sheep and goats as they were fleeing from the cave under the feeling and groping hands of the furious Cyclops. An online essay on the morals that one can glean from The Odyssey, claims that: Blinding the Cyclops is certainly not one of the first approaches most men would have collaborated in that situation. Even at a huge disadvantage, Odysseus maintained composure and utilized his brains to defeat an extremely brawny Cyclops. (Morals) However, being a one-eyed giant leaves little room for thought into what the Cyclops weakness may be. Odysseus knew that he had to keep the Cyclops alive, but weakened, as he was the only one capable of removing the huge boulder that blocked the caves entrance. Surely it may have been the impulse of another Greek hero to just storm the

Thomas 5 Cyclops with the sheer numbers of his men in hopes to overpower him, but Odysseus was smart enough to devise a better plan of attack which allowed Odysseus and his men to escape the cave unseen. The thought process of Odysseus is perfectly outlined by Homer in his poem to allow the reader a unique insight into the decision-making skills of Odysseus. This decision-making structure also puts Odysseuss intellectual abilities on display, as he never leaves an option unexplored in his mind; he considers the possible option and tries to make the best choice through reasoning between the two options. (Tan) Not only did Odysseus successfully escape the cave, but was wise enough to keep his identity from this son of a god at first. Later, he chose to reveal his true identity to Polyphemus, a very foolish act of pride, which I think is included to illuminate the dangers of prideful actions of smart and strong men, because Polyphemus then cursed Odysseus by pleading with his father, Poseidon, to destroy the mortal for what he had done to him. Hence, Homer illustrates that with an abundance of mental prowess one should be mindful enough to be humble about it, or else. Although Odysseus actions provoked the Cyclops to appeal to his father, the god Poseidon, to destroy them, his good decisions and well-thought out actions brought the attention of the god Aeolus upon him as well. Aeolus was impressed by the imaginative intellect possessed by Odysseus and decided to aid him in his quest towards his home by granting a west-wind to blow Odysseus ship towards Ithaca. He also gave Odysseus an ox-skin bag full of many winds. His slow-witted crew opened the bag and released a mighty storm, which blew them further from Ithaca to a place they had never been

Thomas 6 before. Homer recounts that Aeolus deemed that Odysseus must be cursed and vowed to never help him again, showing that foolish and hasty actions lead to unforeseen and devastating consequences. Odysseus then found himself within reach of the Laestrygonians and was presented with a new dilemma, and an opportunity to once again depend upon his brainpower. Odysseus decided to send an envoy of ships into the harbor of this unknown and ill-reputed place to see how he would be received while remaining a safe distance away from the shores of Telepylus the city of the giant Laestrygonians. The bloodthirsty and savage Laestrygonians destroyed every ship in Odysseus fleet except his own. Thus proving, that although Odysseus had a great force of strength at his command, his well-made decision to stay behind, true, did lead to the deaths of many of his men and the destruction of his fleet, but it saved his own life. These actions may be viewed as selfish, but Odysseus, as the leader, deemed it necessary to send his expendable men forward first to see how he himself might be received, especially after his last encounter with a giant, the Cyclops named Polyphemus. In this we see an example of the grandest lesson of The Odyssey and a true testament that brains over, or before, brawn is always the wisest course of action, and that one must always be learning from past experiences so as to use that knowledge to overcome future obstacles. One of the most outstanding characteristics of Odysseus is that he changes, or he learns, and acts accordingly in later circumstances because of his experience in earlier ones. A well-known fact about Ancient Greek heroes, even Homeric heroes, as they are sometimes referred to, are somewhat static; they do not change or alter their personalities nor their way of doing things over the course of the work. Odysseus does though, and that

Thomas 7 is a true sign of someone who not only has sharp intellect, but also recognizes when a lesson has been learned and uses the newfound knowledge in future circumstances, or in other words, he is an impressionable and changing man for the better. I believe this is one of Homers ways of emphasizing that while having and utilizing smarts is more often a better course of action than just relying on your strength alone, but that one must beware of being prideful of such mental prowess. Homer believes, as do many, that it is one of the hardest lessons to learn, for it takes Odysseus his whole odyssey home to learn it. But learn it he does. Odysseus begins to show his wisdom-absorbing nature in Hardings original adaptation of The Odyssey. During the play Odysseus is tasked to teach his men to be civilized after the sorceress Circe had turned them into swine. Instead of reacting in anger, Odysseus decides to humble himself while practicing patience and long suffering to complete this task in less than one years time. I believe that it was Hardings intent to portray a humbler side of Odysseus and to prove that all mental power does not need to be spent on planning how best to use ones brawn to overcome obstacles. But that with careful planning Odysseus was able to employ his brilliance to train the uncivilized swine into refined beings, thus breaking the spell and proving his ability to outwit even a powerful sorceress. However, one of the most renowned examples of Odysseus changing nature is found in the comparison of the heros prideful and boastful attitude after escaping the Cyclops and during other trials, and how he acts when he finally reaches home. Odysseus, upon reaching Ithaca, learns that young suitors have overtaken his estate and are all vying for the hand of his wife, who is believed to be a widow. He proceeds with

Thomas 8 caution, instead of heading directly into unknown circumstances. He keeps his identity a secret to most, until his plans are in place. He decides to trust those who are worthy of his trust, and uses them to assist in laying his traps, rather than using them as mere bait. He ends up in a locked room, from where none of the younger, probably stronger suitors can escape, being armed while they are not. And thus Odysseus was able to thwart the plans of the wicked suitors, murder them, and retain his position, his wife, and his home. Another of the grandest comparisons, which I have already referred to earlier, is that between Achilles and Odysseus. Both achieved that long-sought-after goal, kleos, but the difference between the two is Achilles won his at the cost of his life. Only his memories and retellings of his deeds live on in infamy, while Odysseus won kleos by surviving, and he lived in infamy to be a ripe old age with his family and loved ones nearby. While both forms of kleos are laudable, I know which I would rather have: a long prosperous life and renown thanks to my intellect and brainpower. There are those who seek kleos still in battle and even just while trudging through life by relying solely upon their physical attributes. However, Homer shows us by the end of The Odyssey that the reward for humbly utilizing reasoning, deducing, and decision-making skills before or even in lieu of rash physical reactions is a happy ending filled with love and joy. In conclusion, Odysseus is the grand predecessor and example of the unending truth that brains over brawn, or as weve come to realize in studying some of the feats of Odysseus, that using brains before using brawn, when the use of brawn is necessary, is always the best course of action. Odysseus is also the great exemplar of a man who learns quickly from past mistakes and doesnt repeat those mistakes again. Whether it was quick cunning, slow deliberate planning, or using other skills such as wit, charm, or seduction

Thomas 9 in the face of possible clever enemies, Odysseus is the one true Greek hero who completed his homecoming voyage as a better man than when he left. We can take from his prime illustration a representation of how our lives can be: always improving upon our faults and weaknesses, approaching situations with the mindset to use our brains first before any other reaction, and to use our ever-increasing wisdom in humility.

Thomas 10 Works Cited Harding, Michael A. (the) Odyssey. Self Published., 11 Nov. 2011. Print. Homer. The Odyssey, Trans. Dr. Randy Lee Eickhoff. Forge Books; First Edition. November 17, 2001. Print. Mason, Wyatt. So the trail leads you here. Harpers Magazine. Harpers Mag., 1 Aug. 2008. Web. 4 April, 2012. Morals Portrayed in the Odyssey. Scribd.com. Brandon. n.d. Web. 3 April, 2012. Tan, Joseph. The Structure of Odysseuss Decisions The Pursuit of Kleos. February 14, 2012. Web. 5 April, 2012. Troy. Dir. Wolfgang Petersen. Perf. Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean. Warner Bros. 2004. DVD.